NOW more than one month into the new Scottish basketball season, the five National League Division one Stirling Knights teams are faring well on all fronts.

The senior men, who recently returned to the top flight, scored a vital win over Glasgow University last week which gave the young Knights team their first victory of the season. With five under 18 players playing up to senior level, this season is more about the development of the young players with average age in the squad of 19 years.

The under 18 men have got their season off to a great start, with perhaps the loss away to Perth as the only blot on their report card so far. Scotland players Shaun Craig and Lucas Hamill combined for 67 points in last weekend's win over Boroughmuir Blaze.

The under 16 men, with a largely under 15 team, have excelled and currently sit third in the table after recent wins over West Lothian, Perth, Grampian and Blaze. Dylan Johnstone (Wallace High School) chipped in with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a fine Knights team performance which saw Captain Ruari Doherty (Stirling High School) score 17 points whilst underlining his future point guard credentials with 10 assists.

The under 16 girls have won two and lost one game so far and show signs of very strong development this season. The under 18 girls are so far undefeated after four games, with only rivals Edinburgh Kats having the only other unbeaten record. Recent wins over Highland, West Lothian and Blaze where captain Katie Young has led the way recently notching 19 points and six rebounds, ably supported by 15 year old Freya Walker who added 11 points and four rebounds.

This weekend sees the clubs boys and girls under 10, under 12 and under 14 teams in action in the Basketball Scotland regional development leagues, with games taking place across the central belt.

Knights head of basketball Pete Duncan explained: "It has been a good start to the season and the main priority for us is to develop our players on and off the court through our performance academy and team programmes. The youngsters coming through are very skilled and the coaches, volunteers and parents are all doing their bit in ensuring future success for the Knights. We want to keep building basketball's profile in the Stirling area."